A meeting will be organized in Bethesda, M.D., September 28-30, 1995 under the auspices of the New York Academy of Science which will focus on the genetics and developmental biology of cartilages. This is an emerging area of research to which a large group of scientists from different disciplines are making important contributions. Organizers of this meeting are Benoit de Crombrugghe, Francesco Ramirez, Bjorn Olsen and William Horton. Speakers will be human and mouse geneticists, developmental biologists, molecular biologists and biochemists. Our program includes women and junior scientists. The meeting will be subdivided in five sessions which strongly complement each other. In each session we have left one slot open to be filled at a later date by scientists who will report new results relevant to the theme of the conference which have not yet been published to date. A majority of the presentations will discuss the effects of mouse mutations in transcription factors, cytokines and extra cellular matrix proteins on the development of cartilages and the formation of the skeleton. Human mutations which affect the formation and role of cartilage will also be discussed. A poster session will be organized to present additional results and to further stimulate interactions among participants. We believe that this multi disciplinary meeting should greatly stimulate research on the molecular bases of cartilage development and cartilage function. The meeting should be very beneficial for an improved understanding of diseases of cartilages in humans.